The present invention relates to container holders for vehicles, and in particular to ones which fold between open and closed positions.
With the downsizing of vehicles and the increasing time spent in vehicles, container holding devices have become increasingly important to consumers. In particular, consumers are desirous of holders for drinking cups, pop cans, and coffee mugs that both securely hold the containers and also place them in a convenient accessible location for easy retrieval. Several container holders have been designed for this purpose. However, further improvements are desired. Container holders that provide a stable and secure bottom support for the containers with a minimum of secondary moving parts are desirable since such structures tend to be longer lasting in service and also less expensive to manufacture and assemble. Also, it is desirable to position the containers in a partially protected position over the front edge of an armrest where the containers are located far enough forward to facilitate easy use as a person rests their arm on the armrest, yet far enough rearward not to interfere with a floor mounted transmission shifter on the vehicle. Still further, it is desirable to store the container holding mechanism when not in use without requiring excessive space.